Days before the release of Dhurandhar, it was announced that the film would be arriving in Part 1 and Part 2. Now that was a call that ended up surprising most and also shocking a few. Reason being that while one has heard of franchises in the making (many being announced actually when the first instalments work), seldom has there been films announced with two parts, more so just a few days before release.
In the past, only two films come to mind which dared to arrive in two parts. As always, it was Ram Gopal Varma who tried it first with Rakht Charitra (2010). Then there was Anurag Kashyap, his protege, who came with Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012) a couple of years later. Former had Vivek Oberoi in the leading role in the first part and then Surya in the second. Both parts flopped badly though they did have the trademark Ramu stamp. As for the latter, former had Manoj Bajpayee in the lead while latter had Nawazuddin Siddiqui leading from the front. First part did decently at the box office, the second didn’t.
The commercial response to these four films meant that for almost a decade and a half, no one even thought of bringing a film into two parts. That’s very tough to do as well because it means writing two opening acts, two second acts, two third acts and in the midst of it all, two intermissions. When it’s a sequel then it’s a different thing because they are spaced out by at least a couple of years and more often, even 3-5 years. However dividing a movie into two parts means that they need to arrive in a matter of a few months apart, and definitely not more than 6 months. That makes the whole grammar of storytelling becomes very difficult, very unique and definitely not something that can be an afterthought.
Dhurandhar has been an afterthought for sure because if it was intended to be like that from the very beginning then rest assured, it would have been a huge marketing peg for many months, and not just a few days. Hats off to the team that they actually managed to pull through a phenomenal first left at least which has now set the stage perfectly well for the second part. While one waits to see if the story has been told as effectively and perhaps even better in the second part, rest assured the benchmark is the first part. God forbid, if the first part wouldn’t have done well, it would have been goodbye for the second part even for an OTT release. We are seeing that already for Shankar and Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2 where the first part was a disaster and now there are no takers for the second part even a year and a half after release.
Hence, it makes all the more important for the filmmakers to be truly convinced about bringing their films as Part 1 and Part 2, and hence murmurs around King and Love & War to be potentially exploring this route needs to be not just treaded with extreme caution by the makers but also taken with a pinch of salt by the audiences. Key reason being that there was no such talk for more than a year ever since the announcement around the two films was made, and now it’s only post an all time mega blockbuster success of Dhurandhar – which has emerged as the biggest Hindi film of all time – is that such news in circulation.
For starters, both the films need to have a story which actually warrants to be told in those two parts, and then hold audiences attention well enough within a time period of maximum six months that they can be watched in theatres. Secondly, audience word of mouth and consequently the box office success of Part 1 needs to be historic enough to ensure that Part 2 not just opens big enough but also has ample ammunition to beat the first part’s commercial run.
What happens in these Part 1 and Part 2 movies is that you are fighting it out with yourself, and not the outside world since the competition is with your own self. Again, you need to structure a film in such a way that two instances each of first, second, third act and intermission point comes across as organic, and not forced.
Shah Rukh Khan as well as Sanjay Leela Bhsnasali know all that’s at stake. King Khan has been making movies for three and a half decades and can’t be expected to be carried away just by trends. Bhansali is a passionate filmmaker and while emotions are his core, he also has a sound business sense to guide him on what he does. Rest assured, no monetary, studio or external pressure can make them do something unless they are truly convinced about their actions.
To think of it, one is still awaiting Dhurandhar – Part 2 to arrive, and that by itself will change Bollywood dynamics a lot and will be the driving force behind acceptance or rejection of this whole two part scenario. Since Love & War is expected to arrive first, it has a lot more at stake in terms of announcing a formal decision and then sticking to it. As for King, it can afford to have its marketing campaign designed either ways and then flip in months to come since it won’t be releasing before Q4 ’26.
All in all, a very interesting season ahead and rest assured, if neither of these two movies actually goes by this decision then some other early adapter would be. Also, if after Dhurandhar that film also turns out to be a success then just like franchises and universes, there would be a mad rush to start following this multiple part approach.
Stay tuned, as it’s all just starting in 2026!
